EU and UK reach agreement on Northern Ireland

On at 16:09

TEC


Northern Ireland falls within the internal community and British market, so controls on trade between the United Kingdom and the EU are carried out between the island of Great Britain and that of Ireland

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement on the controversial Northern Ireland ProtocolBritish government sources reported on Monday.

He Agreement culminates negotiations between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the President of the European Commission (EC)Ursula von der Leyen, in the town of Windsor (east London), according to an official source from the United Kingdom Executive to British media.

The two leaders are scheduled to hold a joint press conference at 15:30 GMT to formalize the pact, which culminates years of negotiations and should pave the way for the future post-Brexit relationship between the EU and the UK.

SubsequentlyVon der Leyen will be received at the nearby Windsor Castle by King Charles III, as announced by Buckingham Palace.

At 18:30 GMT, having informed his cabinet of the terms of the agreement, Sunak will appear before the House of Commons (Lower) of the British Parliament to offer details and face the questions of the deputies.

It is still unknown if the pact will be put to a vote in Parliamentsomething that has been claimed by many parliamentarians from Sunak’s own Conservative Party.

After closing the negotiations with Von der Leyen, The prime minister faces the challenge of convincing the pro-Brexit wing of his party and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which have shown the main reluctance.

The latest signs suggest that Sunak can count on the support of some of the most qualified voices of the eurosceptic “Tories”, such as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker, although other heavyweights in the party, such as the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have yet to comment.

By virtue of the current protocol, Northern Ireland falls within the internal community and British market, so controls on trade between the United Kingdom and the EU are carried out between the island of Great Britain and that of Ireland, which avoids lifting a physical border between the two Irelands and allows not to harm the peace agreement of Good Friday, 1998.

That trade frontier, situated in the Irish Sea, has also created political problems between unionists, They consider that it damages their relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom.

One of the doubts lies in whether the DUP will agree to reinstate the Northern Irish Home Rule Executiveparalyzed since last year, after the nationalist Sinn Féin won the regional elections and the unionist formation, the second most voted, refused to join the Government as stipulated in the Good Friday Agreement.

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